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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Leading A Legacy with Charlie Torano

If you've smoked cigars for any period of time, the name
Toraño Family Cigars is sure to ring a bell. They have been making cigars and
growing tobacco since 1916 when Don Santiago Toraño started growing tobacco in
Cuba. After Castro’s takeover and nationalizing of all the farms in 1959, the
Toraño family, led by Carlos Sr., left and went to the Dominican Republic where
they started to grow and produce tobacco with Cuban seed. Today the Toraño name
is one of the most highly respected in the business.

With factories and facilities in every major cigar producing
nation, they have been growing and producing some of the finest tobacco on the
market. Under Charlie Toraño’s leadership (a third-generation Toraño in the
cigar business) the company has expanded its footprint and now, not only do
they grow and produce tobacco for their extensive lines of cigars, but they
also have a distribution arm. In addition they produce cigars for a number of
other cigar brands on the market today.

I recently was able
to catch up with Charlie to ask him a few questions.

CCC- Charlie, can you tell us what drives your passion for cigars?

CT- My passion for cigars is driven by three
things:First and foremost is the legacy
of the three generations that came before me.I feel connected to my ancestors knowing that we share the love of the
leaf and the love of the culture that is growing, manufacturing, and enjoying
cigars.My grandfather died when I was
too young to remember him.It wasn’t
until I started working in the cigar business that I felt connected to
him.Although I wasn’t always aware of
it, the love of cigars is in my DNA.

Secondly, I truly enjoy the experience of smoking
cigars.Everything is better with a
cigar: work, poker with the guys, watching the Heat on the patio, any
conversation . . . .There isn’t one
morning when I’m in the office in Miami that I don’t appreciate the fact that
my first task is to choose my first cigar of the day.

Finally, before I joined my father in the cigar business,
I was a lawyer.As a litigator, both my
clients and my opposing counsel were never happy to see me.Cue the cigar business, and everyone is
pretty darn happy.The cigar fraternity
is filled with people who just want to relax and forget their troubles.It’s easy to be passionate about being a
member of this club.

CC-Who is the one person
you most admire in the cigar industry?

Assuming I cannot include my father, I would say the
person I most admire in the cigar industry is Nestor Plasencia.Nestor
is probably one of the greatest tobacco growers in the world, he is one of the
best manufacturers of handmade cigars in the world, he is an incredible
businessman, extremely personable, a fantastic communicator, extremely wise in
all of his dealings, and I can say without reservation, he has to be among the
hardest working person I’ve ever encountered in any industry.I’ve always been grateful for his friendship
and look to him as one of my mentors in the cigar industry.

CC- Do you have a defining moment when you knew you would make it in the
cigar industry?

I truly believe that if I ever feel that “I’ve made it in the cigar business,” it’s the beginning of the end.I don’t think you ever “make it” in this business.You have to go out and earn it every day.Whether you’re growing, manufacturing, or distributing a cigar brand, the process is intense and requires constant vigilance.I recently saw an interview with Shannon Sharpe, the NFL Hall of Famer from the Denver Broncos.He said he missed going to the White House reception after they won their first Super Bowl because he was working out in the gym.He said he knew that some young guy was in a gym somewhere gunning for his job and he could not let that happen.I think the cigar business is the same thing.There are too many good cigar brands and good people in this industry for anyone to think that they have “arrived.”CC- Anything new on the
manufacturing side....plans for new lines?

Later in 2013 we are launching a new blend from the
Vault.This blend was created back in
2004 and we are excited to get this new Vault blend to the market.We are also launching a limited edition cigar
under our Exodus line called “Exodus Finite.”We’ve also decided to repackage our current Reserva Selecta line.We are moving away from the glass tubes and
offering this great blend in a new presentation.

CC- Where do you see your company
five years from now?

The goal is to continue on a steady growth path,
offering new and exciting cigars, expanding our distribution, both domestically
and abroad, and enjoying the ride.

CC-Favorite person from history-And
why?

Jesus.He preached love and forgiveness and gave
hope to the world.

CC- Stranded on a deserted island
what three things would you want with you?

It is real good that someone like you is tracking the history of cigar families. I would like to leave the following information for other readers, this thing about the origin of the seed leaves away any mention of Puerto Rico. The Taino indians first started growing and rolling tobacco in tube some 6,000 years ago. When Europe got involved with the distribution 99.9% of the tobacco products came from Puerto Rico. It was the Puerto Rican tobacco and seed that farmers in Cuba used to grow their initial crops and replace them after the Spanish American War destroyed everything in Hispaniola between 1895 and 1898. Check www.don-collins.com or just google "Don Collins Cigar History" or "Don Collins Cuban Cigar" to find some of our relevant blogs. You can see a lot in the "notes" section of our FB page as well. I hope your genuine interest in cigar history leads you to a deeper understanding of the contribution Puerto Rico made in getting the whole thing started.